Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Another Dandy bumper issue today!

This week's edition of The Dandy, out today, is another bumper 44 page special. Again, the cover is in a taller format to hopefully give it more attention on the crowded newsstands. (Next week reverts to the usual £1.50 32 page format.)

Once again it's another packed issue full of brand new material. There's a good range of material here from Nigel Parkinson, Wayne Thomson, Andy Fanton, Jamie Smart, David Mostyn, Nik Holmes and many more.

I think this issue sees the last Postman Prat for a while, but he will return! Next issue sees the debut of four new strips (including a revamped Harry and his Hippo) for a vote-off where the readers decide who stays and who goes.

The cover mount for this issue is an early April Fool's joke of the old fake knife through head toy. Just the sort of gruesome but harmless fun that kids enjoy.

Haven't managed to get a copy yet, but I see some people are already kicking up a fuss over at the Dandy facebook page. Pointless offering any kind of argument as these things just get stupid, but it is a shame that there are still those who feel it is their moral duty to watch over the nations well being in this way. Yes, there is a knife crime culture in the UK which is very sad. No, that culture is not a result of free gifts in the Dandy.

As for the bald thing, simply grow a beard and slide it under your chin - result!

I've just left a comment on Facebook. It's absolutely ridiculous that some people take a free toy so seriously. Those fake plastic knives have been around for decades!

A bit of red ink on silver paper isn't going to desensitize children to real violence and gore. When I was a kid I always wanted one of those rubber bloody fingers that Joke Shops sold, but if I'd seen a real finger chopped off I'd have lost my lunch! (I still would!)

Kids know the difference between fantasy and reality. Alas, I'm not sure some adults remember what it was like to be a child.

I wonder if the airport-distributed versions of this week's Dandy have the same gift? I know there are restrictions on what free gifts can be put on them - toy guns (or anything that looks like them, even if it's shaped as something ridiculous like a turtle) aren't allowed.

Good point John. Sheesh, what a climate of fear we live in! To think that as kids we expected the 21st Century to be an age of peace and understanding. (Apart from giant ants scuttling up skyscrapers or Mysterons taking over key figures that is.)

I wonder how far removed people who complain about these kinds of 'violent' free gifts are from those who love to go on about how soft Dennis the Menace has got or how Desperate Dan no longer eats Cow Pies (though obviously he does). Perhaps these two groups could have a go at each other and leave the kids comics to the kids (old and young).

I would be more intrested in just why the Dandy has decided to do a couple of issues with gifts on the cover and an increased price.. While even i can make a good defence for the prices these days, Comics and such did seam to raise pretty high and.. well.. are these toys even good enought to be worth a pound each?

Manic, as I understand it the increased price is mainly to give retailers a bigger incentive to stock those issues. Sadly it's a different world for comics than it was 20 or 30 years ago so publishers have to try harder to win over the big retail chains like Smiths, Adsda, Tesco etc.

However for that extra pound you're not just getting a toy you're also getting 12 extra pages. They are trying to play as fair as they can in this harsh business world.

Thanks for your persistence Peter. The idea was for shops to order more copies although sadly I noticed my local WH Smiths had the usual two copies, and this week they were shelved behind a bagged pre-school comic. Hopefully other shops will have risen to the opportunity to stock extra copies, unless all they care about is selling sandwiches and chocolate now.

Hey, folks! Comics!

About this blog:

Established in 2006, BLIMEY! is a blog that looks back at classic British comics and sometimes reports on current and upcoming titles. Images are copyright their respective publishers and are only used here for review purposes.

The images of comics on my blog are ones I've scanned from my own personal collection or, in the case of some current issues, are promotional images sent to me by the publishers. I do not support 'piracy' and unlike some I do not use images from dodgy illegal comic scan DVDs, nor do I hotlink images from other sites.

On the rare occasion when I might use an image from elsewhere I always credit the source, and I would hope that if anyone takes images from my blog for use on their own sites they will show me the same courtesy. It's simply good manners.

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About Me

I work as a professional humour comics artist and writer and have been freelancing full time since 1984, creating many characters such as TOM THUG, PETE AND HIS PIMPLE, COMBAT COLIN, BRICKMAN, ROBO-CAPERS, DEREK THE TROLL, SUBURBAN SATANISTS and others.
I've freelanced for IPC, Marvel Comics, Egmont, Panini,D.C. Thomson, and many others, covering the comics field from originated characters to licensed properties, pre-school to adult on comics such as BUSTER, OINK!, BEANO, DANDY, TRANSFORMERS, SONIC THE COMIC, TOXIC, VIZ, CiTV TELLYTOTS, LEGO ADVENTURES, HERMAN HEDNING, SWEET FA, ACTION FORCE, SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN, RAMPAGE, LUCKY BAG COMIC, SWIFTSURE, WARLOCK, WHITE DWARF, ACES WEEKLY, THE DAREDEVILS, THE MIGHTY WORLD OF MARVEL, and many more.
My recent comics work has included:'Team Toxic' for Egmont's TOXIC magazine'Postman Prat', 'Kid Cops' and 'The Dark Newt' for THE DANDY'Rasher', 'Pup Parade', 'Lord Snooty' and 'Ivy the Terrible' for THE BEANO.
'Felix and His Amazing Underpants', 'Pathetic Sharks' and 'Suicidal Syd' for adult comic VIZ. 'The Daft Dimension' for DOCTOR WHO MAGAZINE.